The Learning Tree is a 1969 American coming-of-age film written, produced, and directed by Gordon Parks. It depicts the life of Newt Winger, a teenager growing up in Cherokee Flats, Kansas, in the 1920s and chronicles his journey into manhood marked with tragic events. Based on Parks' 1963 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, The Learning Tree was the first film directed by a black filmmaker for a major American film studio, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts.
In 1989, The Learning Tree was among the first group of 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Synopsis
In 1920s Kansas, a group of African-American boys, Newt Winger, Marcus Savage, and friends steal apples from Jake Kiner's orchard, and when Jake (who is white) confronts the boys, he is beaten and left for dead by Marcus, who later is sent to jail for his actions. During the chase of Marcus and the boys, the racist white sheriff shoots dead an innocent black man, and the sheriff is not punished.
Newt does well in school and aims to go to college; a white teacher tries to dissuade him, but the white principal opposes the racism of the town and encourages his ambitions.
While Marcus is in jail, Newt begins to work for Jake to make up for his actions and those of his friends and begins a relationship with Arcella Jefferson, a new girl in town, but his relationship with her is destroyed when Chauncey Cavanaugh, a white boy and son of the local judge, rapes and impregnates Arcella, who ultimately moves away out of shame. Another scene depicts Newt's winning a boxing match at the county fair, in which he beats Marcus.
One day when Newt had just woken up from a nap in the loft of Jake's barn, he witnesses the brutal attack and murder of Jake by Booker Savage, Marcus' father. Newt initially keeps quiet about what he has seen, but is bothered that Silas Newhall, a white man, who was at the scene of the crime for another reason, is being accused for a murder he did not commit. Encouraged by his mother Sarah, Newt reveals to Judge Cavanaugh that Booker committed the murder, and he testifies in court. Newt's testimony leads to the suicide of Booker. Later, Newt nearly is killed by Marcus, who is then shot in the back by the sheriff while running away. Newt refuses a lift home from the sheriff, and he walks away to an uncertain future.
Cast
Kyle Johnson as Newt Winger
Alex Clarke as Marcus Savage
Estelle Evans as Sarah Winger
Mira Waters as Arcella Jefferson
George Mitchell as Jake Kiner
Richard Ward as Booker Savage
Malcolm Attenbury as Silas Newhall
Russell Thorson as Judge Cavanaugh
Zooey Hall as Chauncey Cavanaugh
Dana Elcar as Sheriff Kirky
Felix Nelson as Jack Winger
Joel Fluellen as Uncle Rob
Background
The film The Learning Tree is based on Gordon Parks's 1963 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Parks also wrote the screenplay, and as a result, the script for the film did not deviate much from the book, except for featuring fewer characters for the sake of running time. In addition to being the screenwriter, he was the director, producer, and music composer. Burnett Guffey served as cinematographer, and Parks was assisted by Jack Aldworth and Fred Giles. Parks tried to include as many black technicians as possible on the film.
Parks personally chose Kyle Johnson to play the character of Newt after a brief meeting with him in a Beverly Hills hotel. However, during the meeting, he gave no indication that he wanted to cast Johnson. Johnson kept getting called for screen tests, and after the fourth test, he learned that he had been hired and that the tests were meant to gauge the abilities of the other actors, not him. Johnson characterized the audition process as "not normal".
According to Turner Classic Movies, the original name of the film was Learn, Baby, Learn, then it was changed to its current name. The current title appears to be taken from a line in the film, one that Sarah Winger tells her son Newt: "Let Cherokee Flats be your learning tree."
Film production
The Learning Tree was bought by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1969 and became the first film directed by a black person for a major American film studio. Parks later said:
The Learning Tree was shot on location in Fort Scott, Kansas, in the fall of 1968, and the production process was scheduled to take three months. Fort Scott had been where Parks grew up, and it was also the basis for the fictional town of Cherokee Flats.